07/07/2014

Reviving tea farmers fortunes.

In an article that appeared in the Daily Nation, the publication put
the blame of the plummeting fortunes of the tea farmers on the tea
agency. However, we feel that the problems in the tea sector are much
deeper. The international prizes for tea have reduced, and this means
that the farmers fortunes have also plummeted. However, we think that
more value addition of the Kenyan tea should occur. For instance,
there is no reason why Kenya should not market its own tea. This
should see more farmers get a timely and increased regular income.
Otherwise, more farmers will continue to uproot their tea plantations,
and replace it with the fast growing horticultural crops or in deed,
zero grazing.